Specific applications where there is a need for sound simulation chambers includes an apparatus to improve the success ratio of auditory adjustment of persons to accept and adjust to hearing aids for the first time. To improve the functional utility of hearing aids for long-time users by building stronger tolerance levels and reducing the negative consequences of chronic noise tolerance problems, as the result of the condition known as "recruitment"; to enhance over-all hearing performance by correcting listening deficiencies for persons with normal hearing who experience below average hearing performance; desensitizing to ear noise; to reduce subjective awareness of annoying ear noise for tinnitus sufferers; improve auditory discrimination by conditioning the ears to block out unwanted background noise, improving word understanding abilities, modifying the perceived signal and noise ratios that will maximize hearing concentration levels thereby instilling greater self-confidence when in difficult hearing situations.
Localization skills are developed. The directional features of the chamber produces the ideal conditions for retraining a person recovering from unilateral (one ear) hearing loss to regain synchronized binaural hearing, the ability to hear effectively with both ears. It trains the ears to locate either fixed or moving sound sources.
Related applications for a sound simulating chamber are: screen hearing, sound field testing, including hearing aid evaluations, diagnostic assessment of subjective listening skills, performing basic hearing evaluation (with head phones) and demostrating the natural benefits of binaural hearing.
The device disclosed herein enables the operator to reproduce under controlled conditions, sensory (auditory/visual) phenomena likely to occur in actual performance. The simulator provides a unique opportunity to learn, experience and practice dealing with sensory input within a targeted situation without the risk of negative consequences or the pressure of potential failure.
Potential users of the simulation chamber include audiologists, hearing therapists, speech pathologists, physicians, hearing aid dealers, psychologists and teachers of the blind.
Technical features of the chamber include ten speakers with wide band frequency which could have 5 watts, 8 ohms, be 5 inches in diameter, individually fused with 1/4 inch phone jacks, a control panel with individually controlled speakers, stereo, mono and directional capacity, sound capacity and slide projector connected to the control panel.
The horizontal and vertical movement capacities of the speakers enables each speaker to be angled in relation to the subject's specific orientation within the chamber. The maneuverability is an important contribution because acoustic direction depends on the way a sound enters the ear.
Some of the functions possible with rotational speakers include (1) adjustment of speaker orientation to accommodate different head positions such as sitting upright versus reclining, (2) speaker adjustment for adults versus children, and (3) direct versus indirect sound placement in relation to the subject.